Into 2011

Happy New Year to anyone who reads my blog! What do you think of the new picture heading? It is another gateway or door meant to signify an entrance into all the activities which the WI has to offer its members. OK. I admit it's a bit loose this time and one could be forgiven for thinking the path leads into a black hole but that wasn't my intended interpretation.
What with the weather and the Christmas festivities, it seems a long break from WI events but last week things picked up again.Did you pick up that article in the national press about the appointment of a male Federation Secretary in Gloucestershire? It gave the impression that this was unheard of but Bucks had a very popular gentleman employed as book-keeper for many years and not so long ago either. Also there was a really amusing item in one of the publicity hand-outs from Waitrose about a reporter who had taken part in a Keep Fit Boot Camp at Denman College under the direction of an ex-Army instructor.One of her comments was "There was no way if you were undertaking an activity with the WI you could quit".

13th January
The meeting of the Education and Current Affairs sub-committee took place today.We spent some time reviewing the Alternative Christmas lunch which had successfully enabled BFWI to reach the target for fund-raising for the ACWW project which it had adopted for 2009-2010.The WI collects Pennies for Friendship every year for ACWW (The Associated Countrywomen of the World), an organisation to which the WI is affiliated. The project which we have just completed was for a women's self-help agricultural group in Kenya.We know that members prefer to raise money for specific ends rather than just pay over to a general fund so we will enquire into what projects are available and choose one for the next two years.If any WI wanted a speaker about ACWW there is always someone available in BFWI who can do this.
As a committee in December we had learned how to use our new laptop and projector and would be putting this knowledge to the test at our Trees for Life event in March. We have some excellent speakers booked for this so hope we will get a good take-up there. It was pleasant to be planning summer events which has to be done well in advance. It was also good news to hear that the new County website is almost ready for launching.

12th January
The local WI always delays its first meeting of the year by one week to avoid clashing with the New Year bank holiday. Our speaker was also local in order to avoid possible bad weather. His subject was The Churches of Buckinghamshire so we were able to view in comfort the architectural treasures of our county, all bathed in warm sunshine in contrast to the weather outside.There were a lot of reports of events before Christmas which had been enjoyed and the new committee swung into action for the coming year. We welcomed 5 new members and 2 visitors which augurs well for 2011. The WI has now completed one year in its new venue so the President conducted a plus and minus debate on the change. There are always some members resistant to change but the majority realised that economically and in practice it had been the right thing to do. Although the meeting place in the town centre had been refurbished, it was not big enough for our membership if we wanted to use tables for displays, the raffle and the spread of information to which we have become accustomed. We need the space for people to feel they can circulate and not just sit throughout the evening. Our next meeting is a hands-on session with pottery clay---imagine that with no elbow room! We completed arrangements for a tour followed by a matinee at the new theatre in Aylesbury. The votes for our choice of resolution for the AGM at Liverpool this year were also collected up for forwarding to NFWI.There is also going to be a WI presence at the local meeting about the possible closure of the branch library in the town.

11th January
We started the New Year locally with a meeting of our WI Book Group. Of course we had all received books for Christmas so there was a deal of exchanging them as well as talk about The Interpretaion of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld which was our set book for the past month.This novel did lead to a long discussion as it was a complicated plot and very long novel too.We felt that sometimes it was too long because the author wanted to do an awful lot within the story. He is obviously very interested in the history of the birth of psychological analysis so he ties the action in with Freud and Jung's visit to America for a lecture tour in 1909. He also wants the reader to appreciate the growth of the city of New York not just physically but also as a business centre in the world.We learned a lot about the building of the Manhattan Bridge for instance. The murders were very gruesome and we came away from the book feeling a bit depressed as the whole of society, except the detective and one young psychologist, was corruptible for money or sex. Are we being naive in thinking things have changed? Anyway, it kept us talking and was successful in blending true events and characters with the fictional.